Ryan, wife donate $500,000 to fight cancer
MADISON – Considering his emotional investment in the never-ending battle against cancer, it should surprise no one that Bo Ryan decided to include a $500,000 donation to cancer research in his will.
Cancer, which claimed the life of a longtime friend and confidant, changed that timetable.
Jay Holliday, Ryan’s roommate for three years at Wilkes College in Pennsylvania, died last month after a three-year battle with pancreatic cancer.
“After he passed away, Kelly and I were talking,” Ryan said, referring to his wife. “We said: ‘Hopefully we’re going to live for another 20 to 25 years. But why wait and have that money put toward cancer research when we could do it right now?’
“‘Let’s put the money in there now and see what they come up with.”
The will was changed and the $500,000 has been donated to the UW Carbone Cancer Center.
“A half-million can fund a research position for three to five years,” Ryan said. “It is not easy to find the cure – because we don’t have it yet.
“But we have better detection now and people are living longer. So there is progress but we don’t have the cure yet.”
The Ryans have a winter home in southern California but maintain a home in Madison, within walking distance of the UW Carbone Cancer Center.
“We can go over there and learn and watch what they’re doing,” Ryan said. “We’re going to get a tour in early April when we come back.”
Holliday, who lived on Long Island, N.Y., was the godfather to Ryan’s oldest daughter. Ryan is the godfather to Holliday’s oldest son.
When UW played in the 2K Classic in New York City in Ryan’s final season, Holliday was a guest of the team.
“I had him on the bench when we played at Madison Square Garden in 2015-’16,” Ryan said. “It was really inspiring to see him. But eventually, his body said enough.”
Ryan has been active in Coaches vs. Cancer for more than 20 years. Coaches vs. Cancer was started in 1993 by then-Missouri coach Norm Stewart, a survivor of colon cancer.
According to Natalie Morrison, the national strategic director of Coaches vs. Cancer for the American Cancer Society, Coaches vs. Cancer has raised more than $6 million in Wisconsin and more than $110 million nationally.
Ryan hopes the $500,000 donation can be matched during the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Wisconsin Gala on April 7.
“What I always liked about Coaches vs. Cancer is that it helped in a larger area across the country and the money goes to the best of the best,” Ryan said. “You have to prove that your research has some teeth to it and then you get funded.”
Ryan recently spent several days in Texas filming public-service announcements for Hardwood Heroes, which allows two teams of cancer survivors to play on the same court that will host the Final Four.
The 2018 Final Four is March 31 and April 2 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The Hardwood Heroes game is March 30.
“These kids have a story to tell,” Ryan said of the cancer survivors who will participate in Hardwood Heroes. “It is unbelievable. They all fought through a hell of a lot.
“We get an hour on the court. Each one has their own story – when they were diagnosed, what they had to go through. It is very heartwarming, very inspirational.”